Mt. Garfield is one of the toughest hikes near Grand Junction. Locals talk about it all the time and some have never done it and never plan to. Well, we figured out why last Wednesday.
1. The trail is not marked well.
2. Don't do it if you're afraid of heights and balancing.
3. Within 2 miles, you gain a 2,000 foot elevation.
At the trail head, it looked like the trail to the right was the 'easier' trail. Well any knowledgeable person would attempt the easier trail! My dad and I hiked and hiked, climbing over rocks and up rock walls. We couldn't see any footsteps, but everyone said it was difficult, so we figured it was the right trail. Eventually I ended up high up on a rock wall since I was too afraid to look back down or stop. Once I got to the top, my dad was at the bottom saying, "Kara this is not right trail". Well, when you're looking down an almost 90 degree angle at your Dad and have no idea how to get back down, you cry. So I cried and my dad talked me through crab walking down the rock wall. This resulted in sore shoulders, cuts all over my body, and dirt everywhere.
Dad and I regrouped at the bottom and talked to people hiking down the RIGHT trail. After talking with them we decided, we need to do it after all we had been through.
AND WE MADE IT!! It was totally worth it, but it was a really hard hike! Here's some pictures.
This is the mountain! Yes to get to it, we have to hike along those giant dunes/hogbacks.
The sight of the flag pole was a great sign to tell us we made it! It's hard to capture how beautiful it really was at the top in pictures.
These are the little markers we made on our way down to hopefully help people stay on the right trail. It was a hard hike, but a great view!
Comments